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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1'.

D. T. LAWSON. PROGBSS OF AND APPARATUS FOR DISINFECTING. No. 360.893.Patented Apr. 12, 1887,

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(No Model.) -2 Sh'eetsSheet 2.

D. T. LAWSON. PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR DISINPEGTING'. No; 360,893.Patented Apr. 12, 1887.

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UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID T. LAWSON, OF JERSEY CITY, NEYV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SEABOARDAND INTERIOR COMPANY, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y,

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR DISINIFECTISNG,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,893, dated April12, 1887.

Application filed May 5, 185. Serial No. 164,471. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID T. Lawson, of Jersey City, in the county ofHudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Processes of Disinfect. ing and Apparatus therefor, whichimprovement is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention has reference to the disinfection of dwellings andstores, and infected places generally, and of the holds orstoragecompartments of vessels, and particularly of goods-such as balesof rags and the like-'- which contain or are suspected of containing thegerms of contagious diseases.

The invention comprises a'new mode of disinfecting such places andarticles as above specified by means of alternate streams ofsulphurous-acid gas at high tension and of steam at high pressure; andit also comprises an apparatus for carrying out the operation in anefficient and practical manner.

The accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,illustrate an appara= ms for carrying the invention into effect, Figure1 being 'a longitudinal vertical section, partly in elevation, of theprincipal parts of the apparatus mounted upon a truck or plat-' form;Fig. 2, a view of the distributer, showing two nozzles, one in verticaland the other in horizontal section; Fig. 3, a plan view of theprincipal part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4., across-section of the distributingnozzle, and Fig. 5 a vertical sectionof a vessel designed to receive the wastes of a sickroom to bedisinfected prior to being deposited in the drain-pipes of the building.

Referring to Figsrl and 3, a cylindrical iron vessel,A, lined withfire-brick, is mounted upon a suitable platform, 1 and is providedwithan ash-pit, a, feed-hopper a, grate-bars a", an outlet, a for smokeand products of combustion, a two-part cover, a, a cover, a for thefeed-hopper, and doors a. The cover a" supportsa steam-dome, 0, providedwith the usual safetyappliancessuch as steam and water gages, cocks,valves, &c.-the dome being secured to said cover by angle pieces m'.

The dome O is connected at the 'bottom with a superheating-coil, c, forgenerating high,

into the dome at c.

pressure steam, which passes from said coil The vessel A is designed toact as a furnace or heater to generate steam in the coil 0. The water issupplied as re quired from water-tank E, supported on top of a casting,H, through a supply-pipe, e, by an injector, e.

The cylindrical vessel B is made from the same patterns as A, and mayalso be provided with doors I) b, an inlet, 1)", communicating with thehollow casting H, and an outlet, b", leading to a flue or chimney, G,provided with a damper, g. It also has a cover, b. This vessel Bcontains a steel flask, M, capable of withstanding a high pressure,which may rest on grate-bars similar to those in vessel A. Flask M hasan outlet, m, at the top provided with a cock,ajoint at m, and astop-valve, W. The flask is designed to contain the disinfectingagent-sulphurous acid, (S0,)

The hollow casting H, which connects the vessels A B, is semicircular incross-section, being flat on top. About midway between its ends itconnects with a flue or chimney, F, having a damper, If. The passage His also provided with a damper, h, for cutting off the communicationbetween vessels A and B when desired. The flue F passes through thewater-tank E, and the smoke and gases, when passing through the flue,heat the water to a certain extent before it is supplied to the chamber0. V

The annular castings P, upheld by legs 10, are designed to support thevessels or carboys D, containing sulphurous acid, (S0,.) The supports Pare designed to accommodate any degree of convexity of the bottoms ofthe carboys. The latter, when in place, are connected by pipes d withthe flask M, said pipes containing cocks d and valves (1 1 The whole ofthe apparatus, as thus far described, is mounted upon the platform P,which, as shown, is supported 011 wheels, so as to be readilytransported from place to place where'it-s use may be required.

In operation, the proper cocks being turned to supply thesteam-generator with water and the flask M with the disinfecting agent,a fire is kindled in vessel A, the heat thereof generating high-pressuresteam in coil 0, which is stored in dome O forusc. At first the damper his closed and the dampers h 9 open. Gonsequently the smoke and hot gasespass into chamber B and circulate around the flask M, which circulationmay be aided by a movable diaphragm in vessel B. (Indicated by the dot:ted line in Fig. 1.) The heat of the smoke and gases produces sulphurousacid gas of high tension in flask M, and the products of combustion thenpass off by flue G. When the gage on flask M indicates sufficienttension, dampers g and h are closed and damper It opened, the smoke andgases then passing through flue F. The steam and gas are now ready to besupplied to the distributing device shown in Fig. 2. This consists of ahollow T-shaped casting, N, provided with two branches, a n", containingthe stop'valves n a. The casting N is also provided with a number ofbranch pipes, 0, each having a valve, 0. The pipes n a are designed tobe connected by flexible tubing with the flask M and dome 0 throughoutlets in and 6, respectively, as indicated in the drawing.

Flexible tubing q connects the branches 0 with the insertion-nozzles R,two of which are shown in the figure, being in longitudinal section inplanes at right angles to each other. These nozzles are wedgeshaped,coming to a point, and are oval in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 4.They are shown in the figure as being inserted in a baleof goods,V. Thedotted line indicates the form of the bale as received. The full lineshows its expansion after the lashings a have been out, such expansionbeing limited by placing about the goods cot ton ties or similarfastenings, as indicated by c.

The nozzles R are provided with a number of outlets or orifices, r, forthe escape of the steam or gas. If the apparatus is to be used todisinfect a vessel containing a cargo suspected of infection, theapparatus is drawn to the deck of the vessel, the distributor N beingplaced at a convenient place on the deck. The insertion-nozzles R aredriven into the bales of goods to be disinfected, (bales of rags forpaper-stock, for example,) and the valves m n are opened to admit astream of high-tension sulphurous acid into the pipe, which, issuingfrom the orifices r, permeates the goods in every direct-ion. Valves m aare then closed and valves 0' it opened, whereby jets of highprcssuresteam are discharged into the goods, and this is followed by a furtherintroduction of the sulphurous-acid gas.

The introduction of high-tension sulphurous acid heated to a high degreeis the most effective and economical application of this disinfectingagent, the gas permeating every part of the goods in the least possibletime. The subsequent introduction of steam-vapor serves to take up andretain in solution the residue of gas and the second introduction of thegas saturates the watery vapor derived from the steam, producing in thegoods a finely-divided and well-distributed solution of hydrated sulphurous acid, which continues active for disinfection after the actualprocess is concluded, without making the goods in the least damp orsubject to any deterioration.

For disinfecting rooms or apartments in dwellings, hospitals, and otherbuildings, the apparatus is used in a similar way, discharging first astream of the gas, then a jet-of highpressure steam, and finally anotherstream of the gas.

The above apparatus on a small scale, heated by a gas or oil flame, isalso very useful for disinfecting the wastes of a sick-chamber prior todepositing these in the sewers, and thereby preventing the spread of thedisease. For convenience in this operation, the vessel S, Fig. 5, maybeused to. contain the wastes while under treatment. This vessel consistsof a body part, 8, in which the wastes are placed, being hermeticallyclosed during use by a cover, 3', and an inletpipe, 1, opening into thepart 8 at the bottom. The tube leading from the gas and steam generatorsis connected with pipe at t. The vessel has an outlet at 1', providedwith a'cock for discharging its contents when the disinfecting processis completed.

While the above description and drawings explain the best modecontemplated by me of carrying my said process into effect, it isobvious that I am not confined to the precise details of constructionand arrangement therein set forth, as these may be varied and modifiedwithoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

Having now fully described my said invention and the manner of carryingthe same into effect, what I claim, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

1. The described method of disinfecting by applying to the place to bedisinfected a stream of high-tension sulphurous-acid gas and subsequently a jet or spray of high-pressure steam, substantially as setforth.

2. The described method of disinfecting by applying a stream ofsulphurous-acid gas at high tension, then a jet or spray of steam, andsubsequently another stream of the gas, substantially as set forth.

3. In a disinfecting apparatus, the combination of the superheater forsupplying highpressure steam, the flask for producing disinfecting-gasat high tension, separate exit-pipes for the steam and gas, and afurnace or other source of heat, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the superheater and steam-dome, the water-tankconnected with the latter, the flask for producing a gas at hightension, and a furnace or similar source of heat, said steam-dome andflask being provided with suitable outlets, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the connected vessels or chambers, one inclosing asuperheating-coil and a fire-chamber and the other a flask forgenerating gas at high tension, a steam-dome connected with said coil, awater-tank, inlets and outlets for the steam-generator and flask, andsuitable flues for the escape of smoke and gases, the whole beingmounted on the same platform or truck, so as to constitute a portableapparatus, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the two vessels A B, the one containing afire-chamber, a passage connecting said vessels, so as to conduct thewaste heat from one to the other,aregulatingdamper in said passage, asteam-generator. in vessel A, and a flask in vessel B, for producing adisinfecting-gas at high tension, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the vessel containing a steam-generator andfire-chamber and the vessel containing a flask for the-disinfectingagent, said vessels being connected by a suitable passage, so that thewaste heat from the first-named vessel may be'utilized to impart ahightension to the gas in said flask, substantially as described.

8. In a disinfecting apparatus, the combination, with thesteam-generator and the firechamber, of the water-tank connected withthe generator and the flue for the escape of the products of combustionpassing through said tank, substantially as described.

9. The combination, in a disinfecting apparatus, with thesteam-generator and fire-chamber, of the flask'for producing gasat hightension, discharge-pipes for the steam-generator and flask, and thevessels or carboys for supplying the disinfecting agent to said flask,substantially as described.

10. A portable disinfecting apparatus comprising, in combination,a,vesse1 having afirechamber, a superheater in said vessel, a pipe forconducting away the high-pressure steam,- a second vessel connected withthe former by a suitable passage, a flask in said second vessel adaptedto contain a disinfecting agent to be raised to a high tension by thewaste heat coming through said passage, a pipe for conveyingsaidhigh-tension gas, awater-tank connected with the super-heater, and acarboy or carboys connected with said flask, the whole being mounted ona common platform or truck, a

and flask, of the distributer consisting of a...

hollow casting having two branches leading, respectively, to saidsteam-dome and flask, discharge-nozzles connected with said distributer,and suitable cooks for regulating the discharge of the disinfectingagents, substantially as described.

13. The combination, with the steam-dome and flask and pipes leadingtherefrom, of the distributer comprising a hollow T-shaped castinghaving two inlet branches, provided with cocks and connected with saiddome and flask, respectively, and provided, also, with a number ofoutlet-branches leading to dischargenozzles, substantially as described.

14.. The combination, with the pipes for conveying a disinfecting agent,of the wedge-v shaped diScharge-nozzle having a number of smallorifices, substantially as described.

15. The discharge-nozzle for disinfecting purposes, oval incross-section, and provided with a number of orifices on all sides, andadapted for insertion into a bale of goods, as set forth.

16. The combination, with the distributer and pipes leading thereto, ofthe branch pipes leading therefrom, and connecting each by a flexibletube with a wedge-shaped insertionnozzle provided withdischarge-orifices, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

7 DAVID T. LAWSON;

lVituesses:

Tnos. B. LAWsoN, JOHN H. MARTIN.

